In Pursuit of Visibility: Essays in Archaeology, Ethnography, and Text in Honor of Beth Alpert Nakhai

Jennie Ebeling earned her MA and PhD from the University of Arizona and is Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Evansville. She co-directed the Jezreel Expedition in Israel with Norma Franklin and specializes in the study of ancient food and drink technology. She is the co-editor of four other volumes and the author of Women’s Lives in Biblical Times (T&T Clark 2010). Laura Mazow earned her MA and PhD from the University of Arizona and is Associate Professor in Anthropology at East Carolina University. Her research focuses on ancient textile technologies in the southern Levant and eastern Mediterranean.

Introduction: An Appreciation of Beth Alpert Nakhai – Jennie Ebeling, Laura Mazow, Mandana Nakhai, Abbe Alpert, and J. Edward Wright ;



Part I: Archaeology ;


Tfu Tfu Tfu: Against Evil Eye Assumptions – Abigail S. Limmer ;


‘It’s the Pits …’ Iron Age I Economy at Abel Beth Maacah – Lisa Marsio ;


What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Contextualizing an Iron Age IIA Female-Drummer Figurine from Tel Abel Beth Maacah – Nava Panitz-Cohen and Daphna Tsoran ;


Rethinking ‘Cultic’ Herd Management: A Preliminary Multi-Isotopic Perspective on the Proposed Iron Age IIA Cultic Space at Khirbet Summeily – Kara Larson and James W. Hardin ;


Two-Handled Pillar Jars at Gezer – Charles Wilson, Steven M. Ortiz, and Sam R. Wolff ;


Greco-Roman Dining Practices, Feasts, and Community Structure at Qumran – Alan W. Todd ;



Part II: Ethnography and Ethnoarchaeology ;


They also Dug! Archaeologists’ Wives and their Stories – Norma Dever† ;


Making Space: Women and Ovens in the Iron Age Southern Levant – Jennie Ebeling ;


Gender and Glass: An Historical and Contemporary Consideration – Alysia Fischer ;


Female Elders, Professional Potters, and Heritage Collecting – Gloria London ;



Part III: Hebrew Bible ;


The Host and the Hosted: Commensal Politics and Cultural (Mis)understandings at Samson’s Wedding – Laura Mazow ;


Asherah: Everyone’s Favorite Girl – Theodore W. Burgh ;


Defending Scripture through Spiritual Archaeology – Mark Elliott ;


Unveiling Biblical Women with Accurate Translations of the Hebrew Feminine – Elizabeth Ann R. Willett ;


Women in Archaeology and Antiquity – William G. Dever